Earth's Greatest Magus

With the confirmation from VIA’s scan, Emery immediately abandoned his escape plan.

The person he was searching for—Vayerel, the survivor tied to Rosin Karat—was here. Not hidden in a far-off city but standing amidst the chaos, guiding the assault from the frontlines. Emery could see him now, unmistakable in presence, radiating the force of a peak Cosmic expert as he battled the guardian of the north post.

“I should do all in my power to get him captured,” Emery muttered.

But charging into the battle now would be suicide. The northern courtyard had transformed into a crucible of clashing titans. Dozens of Cosmic experts were locked in combat, their energy crackling and colliding with devastating force. Above, trails of light flashed like comets as spells and artifacts shattered the sky. More enemies poured in through the broken gates, turning the outer yard into a war zone.

Emery gritted his teeth and fell back into the shadows, cutting down low-level enemy warriors where he could, his movements swift and precise. He had to wait. One wrong step here and he would die before even reaching Vayerel.

Only thirty minutes had passed since the first breach, yet the stronghold was already on the brink of collapse.

Over two hundred enemy Cosmic experts had made their way through the shattered outer walls—north, south, east, and west—spreading like a plague. Even worse, a disturbing number of them were Pardera warriors, comrades who had once stood shoulder to shoulder with the defenders, now turned puppets of parasitic infection. Their eyes were empty, glowing dimly, and they struck down friends and allies without hesitation.

Emery clenched his jaw.

If I hadn’t created those Expira Draughts, this could have been even worse…

Even so, the situation was dire. Within the first hour, over fifty Cosmic experts were slain, their bodies torn asunder or their souls consumed. Hundreds more Magus-level defenders were lost in the maelstrom of battle. The defensive line trembled under the sheer pressure.

What truly tipped the scale were four peak Cosmic experts draped in dark cloaks, cloaked in swirling dark mist that bent space and light around them. They moved like wraiths, unstoppable, immune to lesser attacks.

 Lord Ariel, the vice commander, stood in the skies with his ten strongest, secured in desperate combat against six other peak-level invaders.

With Lord Ariel forced to divide his attention, the four cloaked figures wreaked havoc. One hurled spheres of molten black flame that devoured everything; another manipulated shadows into serpents that strangled entire squads; a third wielded bone-white lightning that tore open the sky; and the last, a horned woman with void in her eyes, simply walked, her presence unraveling defensive spells with every step.

Even the guardian and his elite squads could barely hold the line.

One by one, the outer yards fell. Emery watched as the battle turned into a massacre. The lion tower on the northern ramparts was the first to fall, reduced to rubble by a singular impact from the horned woman. Then the phoenix tower collapsed under waves of shadow serpents. The Leviathan Tower, known for its powerful water-based formations, fell in a thunderous blast of bone lightning.

The defensive crystal formations were shattered. The runic pillars protecting the walls cracked, their glowing patterns flickering and dying. Formation experts were creature hunted, picked off one by one. Without them, there was no chance of stabilizing the crumbling perimeter.

Then, it happened.

A massive explosion bloomed in the sky—blinding, deafening, and final. Emery’s eyes widened as he felt two incredibly powerful auras vanish, erased in an instant. Two of Pardera’s top defenders, obliterated by the supreme being.

High above, Lord Airel spat blood, staggering mid-air, barely holding back another peak expert. His armor was cracked, his face pale.

“HAHAHA! You should be proud!” Rendra bellowed, his voice echoing through the valley like rolling thunder. “You’ve lasted longer than most! Surrender now, and I’ll grant you a place beneath my banner.!!”

The stalemate in the sky shattered as one of the enemy’s peak warriors suddenly broke away from the mid-air clash, plummeting toward the ground like a meteor. Emery sensed it instantly—the surge of foul power, a sharp spike in the air, the crackling of dark lightning.

It was the child-like creature.

Small, humanoid, but grotesquely wrong. His crimson eyes sparkled with sadistic joy, and his tiny limbs moved in unnatural blurs. He landed in the heart of the battlefield like a thunderstrike, sending a shockwave that knocked seasoned warriors off their feet.

Then came the carnage.

With terrifying agility, the creature dashed between defenders, his claws rending through armor like paper. One soldier had his chest crushed in a single punch; another screamed as his body twisted, soul burning from within as black fire erupted from his mouth and eyes. The air filled with the stench of charred flesh and burned spirit essence.

“Retreat to the inner walls!” shouted the remaining guardians.

The final statue—the Serpent—was activated. A massive obsidian construct in the shape of a coiled snake shimmered to life, its eyes glowing emerald as ancient magic pulsed through it. One of the remaining formation masters had successfully channeled enough energy into it, allowing it to slither and coil around the inner wall like a living entity.

As the defenders fell back behind the serpent wall, the guardian’s voice echoed through the crumbling stronghold.

“GUARD THIS WALL WITH YOUR LIVES! REINFORCEMENTS ARE ON THE WAY!”

Three hours had passed since the first breach. Reinforcements were still two—maybe three—hours away. The defenders were bloodied, desperate, and outmatched.

Even amidst the chaos, Emery’s gaze remained locked on Vayerel. The man was floating mid-air now, weaving through spellfire and slashing through defenders with casual grace. Emery could see him preparing a high-level spell to break the inner barrier.

If he succeeds… the inner barrier will fall.

The guardians quickly dispatched their forces to stop the man, but Emery thought of a different path—one that could tip the balance of the battle.

Instead of joining the wall defenses, he slipped past the chaos and entered the main keep, heading deep underground where the prisoners were being held.