Investing in My Harem in the Apocalypse Makes Me Stronger

His control over energy sharpened considerably as 100 additional base points became amplified through Solar Origin Body.

Not only that, the destructive power of his magic-based attacks had also risen by a significant amount.

Magic directly affected the strength of the energy behind Skills such as Ruin Eruption, Origin Solar Lance, and Inferno Star. With another 100 base points receiving the fivefold amplification from Solar Origin Body, the difference would not be small.

Cain could already feel it without even using a Skill.

The Fire Mana inside his body felt denser and easier to compress, while the True Ruin circulating around his Core responded with noticeably greater force whenever he attempted to gather it.

If he released the same Origin Solar Lance or Inferno Star he had used before, their destructive power would now be considerably higher even without changing the amount of Mana he invested into them.

And if he poured his expanded Mana reserve into those attacks as well...

Cain’s smile widened slightly as he could tell that the result should be interesting.

Cain then opened the Stats again.

[Stats]: Strength: 458 (+518) / Agility: 466 (+353) / Physique: 313 (+1,004) / Sense: 262 (+5) / Mana: 660 (+3,300) / Magic: 510 (+2,550)

A satisfied smile appeared on his face.

’How much can I actually do now?’

His gaze returned toward the settlement.

More specifically, toward the unknown 3rd Echelon commander somewhere inside.

He had originally been cautious about fighting something an entire Echelon above most of his group.

That caution had not disappeared.

But alongside it, genuine anticipation had started growing.

Cain wanted to test himself.

He wanted to know whether the difference between the 1st and 3rd Echelons was enough to suppress everything he currently possessed.

Before he could think further, movement appeared near the settlement.

The large outer gate opened.

One Zombie Race soldier stepped outside.

Then more followed.

Within a short period, nearly fifty 1st Echelon soldiers had emerged beyond the wall.

Behind them came twelve figures releasing significantly stronger Mana fluctuations.

2nd Echelons.

The soldiers formed several lines outside the entrance.

There was no panic among them.

They had clearly been warned in advance and had prepared for Cain’s group to arrive.

Cain watched the enemy formation for several seconds.

Then a strange thought entered his mind.

Twelve 2nd Echelons.

Nearly fifty 1st Echelons.

Under normal circumstances, Cain would have allowed everyone to engage according to the usual formation.

The 2nd Echelons would be divided between their strongest members while everyone else dealt with the weaker soldiers.

That would work.

However...

Cain had just increased his Mana and Magic significantly.

And it just so happened that there was something he wanted to test.

”Wait.”

Ron had already lowered his body to charger, but suddenly stopped at Cain’s voice.

”What?”

”Don’t attack yet.”

The others looked toward Cain.

Nathan lowered his bow slightly.

Cain stared at the enemy formation.

”I have an idea.”

He unsheathed his sword.

The dark blade reflected faint crimson light from the fractured sky.

True Ruin immediately flowed from Cain’s body and entered the weapon.

The dark-gray energy spread across the edge until the blade itself became difficult to distinguish beneath the dense layer surrounding it.

Cain did not stop there as more True Ruin Energy entered his body.

Power surged through his legs and arms.

The enormous physical stats Cain already possessed rose sharply under the amplification.

The ground beneath his boots began cracking under the pressure.

Cain moved his shoulder once as there was a faint feeling of restraint throughout his body.

His Divine body could comfortably endure the current output.

The sensation came from the sheer amount of power waiting to be released through movements that still needed to remain controlled.

He focused on the sword as more True Ruin Energy compressed around it.

The Perfected Ruin Mana Core rotated steadily within Cain’s chest as he forced the energy into an increasingly thin layer around the edge.

Normally, pouring this much True Ruin Energy into a weapon would have been unnecessary.

Against one enemy, it would have been wasteful.

However, Cain was not aiming at one enemy as his eyes followed the formation.

They had positioned themselves close together outside the gate.

The 1st Echelons occupied most of the front and middle.

The stronger soldiers remained behind them, clearly expecting to intercept whichever members of Cain’s group broke through.

Cain smiled widely.

’Perfect.’

Ron noticed the expression.

”What are you planning?”

”You’ll see it in a bit.”

Cain took one step forward.

The 1st Echelons Zombies immediately reacted, raising their weapons.

The 2nd Echelons began circulating Mana.

Cain then vanished into thin air.

BOOM!

The ground where he had been standing burst apart.

Ron only saw a dark blur cross his vision.

His eyes widened.

”What the fuck?”

Cain’s current speed had exceeded his and it wasn’t by a tiny amount either.

By the time the Zombie Race soldiers noticed Cain was nowhere to be seen, he had already crossed most of the distance separating them.

He stopped approximately a dozen meters in front of the formation.

His right foot struck the ground first.

Cain lowered his body sharply.

One leg bent beneath him to support nearly all of his weight, while the other stretched outward along the ground.

His body dropped close enough to the black-gray surface that the position resembled a low sliding crouch.

The Zombie Race soldiers at the front raised their weapons.

Unfortunately, it was too late as Cain had already made his move.

The horizontal slash passed from one side of his body to the other.

At the same moment, the enormous amount of compressed True Ruin Energy surrounding the blade was released.

SHIIIIING!

A thin dark-gray crescent energy flew from the sword.

Cain had deliberately compressed the attack into a narrow horizontal line.

However, its width continued expanding as it crossed the distance.

The crescent tore through the air with enough speed that the soldiers standing directly in its path had no opportunity to evade.

Several tried to block, but everything failed miserably.

SHHK!

The first row of Zombie Race soldiers separated at the waist.

The attack continued forward.

Weapons caught directly in its path broke apart before the remaining True Ruin Energy deteriorated the damaged metal.

Several 2nd Echelon soldiers managed to reinforce their bodies in time, but the crescent still tore through their lower sections.

The dark-gray blade of energy continued traveling beyond them.

BOOM!

It struck the outer wall.

A long section split apart.

Stone blocks collapsed inward as True Ruin Energy spread along the damaged structure, causing the surrounding material to crumble under its own weight.

The attack did not stop completely until it passed through part of the buildings directly behind the entrance.

For several seconds, nobody moved.

Then their bodies began falling.

One after another, dozens of Zombie Race soldiers collapsed.

Some had been separated completely at the waist, while some others had lost both legs.

Even several of the 2nd Echelons were left dragging themselves across the ground with their lower bodies destroyed.

Cain remained in the same lowered stance for a moment.

Then he slowly stood up as he looked at the result.

A broad section in front of the Southern settlement had been cleared by a single sword movement.

The damaged wall behind the enemy had collapsed far enough that Cain could now see deeper into the settlement through the opening.

Several buildings had been cut apart.

Farther inside, the gray-black energy rising from the Southern Spatial Anchor Gate had become much easier to see.

Cain stared at his sword in satisfaction.

’Not bad.’

He had originally only intended to test whether he could release a wider version of the unstable True Ruin crescent blade energy he had experimented with before awakening Ruin Eruption.

The result was much better than expected.

His Perfected Mana Core gave him enough control to keep the released energy compressed across a large distance.

Combined with his increased Magic and his much stronger Ruin Dragon Force output, a simple sword sweep had turned into an attack capable of disabling an entire formation.

Cain looked over his shoulder and found that everyone behind him was staring at him with a mixed expression.

Ron appeared personally offended.

Sonya’s mouth was slightly open.

Even Elara needed another moment before her expression returned to normal.

Cain pointed his sword toward the disabled soldiers.

”Finish them and immediately gather their Cores.”

The others finally reacted as Ron disappeared first.

Lightning crossed the battlefield before Cain could say anything else.

He appeared beside one of the wounded 2nd Echelon soldiers and drove his spear through its skull.

CRACK!

The zombie stopped moving.

Ron pulled the weapon free and looked toward Cain.

”You bastard!”

Cain raised an eyebrow.

”What?”

”Why didn’t you do this earlier?”

Ron pointed toward the dozens of crippled enemies scattered across the ground.

”You made us go through all that shit at the previous outposts when you could’ve just done this?”

Cain looked at him calmly.

”That’s exactly why.”

”What the fuck are you talking about?”

”So you won’t depend on me too much.”

Ron stared at him.

Cain continued with a completely serious expression.

”If I kill everything whenever we encounter enemies, what are you supposed to learn?”

”...”

Ron narrowed his eyes.

”You just thought of doing this now, didn’t you?”

Cain’s expression did not change.

”No.”

”You definitely did.”

”Stop talking and just do your job.”

”You shameless bastard.”

”Be quick, the 3rd Echelon could appear at any moment now.”

Ron clicked his tongue.

”Whatever.”

He vanished again.

Cain watched him leave before quietly looking away.

Naturally, there was no reason to admit Ron was completely correct.

The idea of using a wide horizontal True Ruin crescent to disable an entire group had only occurred to Cain a few moments ago.

That did not make his explanation wrong.

Everyone becoming too dependent on him would genuinely be troublesome.

So Cain decided that both reasons could be true.